Set up in 2019, the Transfarmation Project works with farms across the US that want to ditch industrial animal agriculture, which is typically done as contract work on behalf of big meat companies, and move toward a sustainable, fully independent business model. They provide guidance on how to repurpose existing infrastructure for different crops, but also business advice on how to find the market, set up a website, establish a brand and sell directly to consumers. They also provide research and innovation grants that can help with the finances. The idea is to move beyond a form of intensive farming that has a hugely detrimental impact on the environment, but also to protect the farmers themselves, many of whom find that the concentrated animal-feeding operation (Cafo) model takes a toll on their mental health. "We used to have all these independent farms," [Iowa farmer Tanner] Faaborg says. "Our family used to have this homesteading lifestyle with some chickens and a big orchard." That changed for the Faaborgs about 30 years ago when someone from one of the big meat companies knocked on their door. "It became more: we have ... to collect this check, to pay the bills and pay back the loan." The Transfarmation Project [shows] that a different model is possible, closer to the autonomy of old. For the Faaborgs, the switch has made them feel excited about their work and its connection to nature. They want others to know that a different future is possible.
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